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Raif Badawi was imprisoned for his religious freedom advoacy, expression about religion, and for criticizing religious authorities.

In June 2012, authorities arrested Badawi, a…

Mohammad bin Hassan al-Habib is imprisoned for his religious expression, leadership role, and religious freedom advocacy.

In July 2016, authorities detained al-Habib, a Shi'a cleric, as he…

Ashraf Fayadh was imprisoned for apostasy.

In August 2013, authorities arrested Fayadh, a Palestinian poet and artist living in Saudi Arabia, following an altercation with a man in …

Ahmad al-Shamri is imprisoned and sentenced to death for blasphemy.

In 2014, authorities arrested al-Shamri, accused him of using social media to insult or renounce Islam, and charged him…

Leah Sharibu is in EPC captivity for refusing to renounce her faith.

On February 19, 2018, the Islamic State - West Africa Province (…

Hassan Farhan al-Maliki is detained for his religious expression and religious freedom advocacy.

In September 2017, authorities arrested al-Maliki, an…

Ali al-Nimr was imprisoned for his religious identity and for protesting religious discrimination.

In July 2012, authorities detained Al-Nimr, the nephew of prominent Shia cleric Nimr al-…

Dawood al-Marhoun was imprisoned for his religious identity and for protesting religious discrimination.

On May 21, 2012, authorities arrested al-Marhoun, who was 17 years old at the time…

Abdullah al-Zaher was imprisoned for his religious identity and for protesting religious discrimination.

In March 2012, authorities detained al-Zaher, 15 years old at the time, for…

Aisha al-Muhajiri is detained for her religious activity.

In February 2021, police raided al-Muhajiri's home in Mecca and detained her for preaching and giving Qur'an lessons at her home.…

Mohammed al-Rabiah is imprisoned for his activism against state imposed religious systems.

On May 15, 2018, authorities arrested al-Rabiah amid a statewide crackdown on women's rights…

Salman al-Ouda is detained for his religious activity and leadership role.

In September 2017, police arrested al-Ouda, a sheikh and Islamic scholar, from his home amid a state-wide wave…

Waleed abu al-Khair is imprisoned for his religious freedom advocacy.

In April 2014, authorities arrested al-Khair for legally defending religious prisoners of conscience, including Raif…

Ali Aboluhom is imprisoned for his religious expression.

In August 2021, authorities arrested Aboluhom for allegedly expressing ideas about atheism online. Prosecutors charged him with…

Murtaja Qureiris was imprisoned for his religious identity and for protesting religious discrimination.

On September 20, 2014, authorities arrested Qureiris, who was 13 years old at the…

Ali al-Omari is detained for his religious activity and leadership role.

In September 2017, authorities arrested al-Omari, an Islamic scholar, talk-show personality, and chairman of TV…

Israa al-Ghomgham is imprisoned for her religious identity and religious freedom advocacy.

In December 2015, Saudi authorities arrested al-Ghomgham, a well-known Shi'a activist, along with…

Mousa al-Hashim is imprisoned for his religious identity and religious freedom advocacy.

In December 2015, Saudi authorities arrested al-Hashim along with his wife, a well-known Shi'a…

Mohammed Issam al-Faraj is imprisoned for his religious identity and religious freedom advocacy.

On June 29, 2017, authorities in Medina arrested al-Faraj for protesting the state's…

Ali Hassan al-Faraj is detained for his religious identity and religious freedom advocacy.

In June 2017, authorities in Medina arrested al-Faraj for protesting against the state's treatment…

Ahmed Abdul Wahid is detained for his religious identity and religious freedom advocacy.

In June 2017, authorities in Medina arrested al-Faraj for protesting against the state's treatment of…

Ali Mohammed Al Bati is detained for his religious identity and religious freedom advocacy.

In June 2017, authorities in Medina arrested Al Bati for protesting against the state's treatment…

Mohammed Hussein Al Nimr is detained for his religious identity and religious freedom advocacy.

In June 2017, authorities in Medina arrested Al Bati for protesting against the state's…

Jalal Labbad was imprisoned and executed for his religious identity and for protesting religious freedom conditions.

On February 23, 2017, authorities arrested Labbad from his family’s home…

Ahmed al-Matrood is imprisoned for his religious freedom advocacy.

On an unspecified date, Saudi authorities arrested al-Matrood for protesting in Al-Qatif governorate against the state's…

Khaled al-Ghanim is imprisoned for his religious freedom advocacy.

On an unspecified date, Saudi authorities arrested al-Ghanim for protesting in Al-Qatif governorate against the state's…

Ali al-Ouwaisher is imprisoned for his religious freedom advocacy.

On an unspecified date, Saudi authorities arrested al-Ouwaisher for protesting in Al-Qatif governorate against the state's…

Mujtaba al-Muzain is imprisoned for his religious freedom advocacy.

On an unspecified date, Saudi authorities arrested al-Muzain for protesting in Al-Qatif governorate against the state's…

Lina Alsharif was detained in relation to religious freedom advocacy.

In May 2021, officials from the Saudi Presidency of State Security raided Alsharif’s home in Riyadh, arrested her, and…

Sulaiman al-Dowaish was forcibly disappeared for his religious expression.

In April 2016, al-Dowaish, a religious scholar, was forcibly disappeared after posting tweets summarizing a…

Aimidoula Waili was detained for his ethnoreligious identity.

In November 2020, Saudi Arabian authorities arrested Waili, a Uyghur Muslim and religious scholar, following an extradition…

Nuermaimaiti Ruze was detained for his ethnoreligious identity.

In November 2020, Saudi Arabian authorities arrested Ruze, a Uyghur Muslim, following an extradition request from the Chinese…

Buheliqiemu Abula was detained for her ethnoreligious identity.

In March 2022, Saudi Arabian authorities detained Abula, a Uyghur Muslim, and threatened her with deportation to China.

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Ali Badahdah is imprisoned in relation to his religious activity and leadership.

On September 12, 2017, armed soldiers arrested Badahdah, an imam and professor of hadith at King Abdul Aziz…

Asmaa al-Subaie is detained for her women’s rights activism critical of state-imposed religious systems.

In June 2021, authorities affiliated with the Presidency of State Security arrested…

Omar Abdullah al-Saadoun is detained for her religious freedom advocacy.

In July 2021, authorities arrested Omar Abdullah al-Saadoun, a cleric and legal advisor, after he wrote an article…

Omar al-Muqbil is imprisoned for his religious expression and religious freedom advocacy.

In September 2019, authorities arrested al-Muqbil, a cleric, for a sermon criticizing concerts…

Abdullah Basfar is imprisoned for his religious activity and leadership.

In August 2020, authorities arrested Basfar, an imam, professor, well-known Qur’an reciter, and former Secretary-…

Abdulrahman Al-Sadhan is imprisoned for his religious expression. 

In March 2018, security agents from the Presidency of State Security arrested Al-Sadhan for operating two anonymous…

Rolando Álvarez was imprisoned for criticizing religious freedom conditions.

On August 4, 2022, police prevented Álvarez, bishop of the Matagalpa diocese, from leaving his home to perform…

Salma al-Shehab was imprisoned for her women's rights activism opposing state-imposed religious systems as well as her religious identity.

On January 15, 2021, authorities arrested al-…

Ramiro Tijerino was imprisoned in relation to criticism of religious freedom conditions.

On August 4, 2022, police prevented several people, including Tijerino, a priest, from leaving the…

Sadiel Eugarrios was imprisoned in relation to criticism of religious freedom conditions.

On August 4, 2022, police prevented several people, including Eugarrios, a priest, from leaving…

Raúl Antonio Vega was imprisoned in relation to criticism of religious freedom conditions.

On August 4, 2022, police prevented several people, including Antonio Vega, a deacon, from…

José Luis Díaz was imprisoned in relation to criticism of religious freedom conditions.

On August 4, 2022, police prevented several people, including Luis Díaz, a priest, from leaving the…

Darvin Leiva was imprisoned in relation to criticism of religious freedom conditions.

On August 4, 2022, police prevented several people, including Leiva, a seminarian, from leaving…

Melkin Sequeira was imprisoned in relation to criticism of religious freedom conditions.

On August 4, 2022, police prevented several people, including Sequeira, a seminarian, from leaving…

Sergio Cárdenas was imprisoned in relation to criticism of religious freedom conditions.

On August 4, 2022, police prevented several people, including Cárdenas, a cameraman, from…

Saleh Al Talib is imprisoned for his religious expression leadership.

In August 2018, authorities arrested Talib, an imam at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, following a sermon he gave criticizing…

Youssef al-Manasif is imprisoned and sentenced to death for his religious identity and religious freedom advocacy.

In April 2017, authorities arrested al-Manasif for participating in…

Abdullah al-Derazi was imprisoned and executed for his religious identity and for protesting religious freedom conditions.

On August 27, 2014, Tarut Island Police arrested al-Derazi in…

Enrique Martínez was detained for his religious leadership role.

On October 13, 2022, authorities reportedly violently arrested Martínez, the parish priest of St. Martha’s Church in…

Abdul Majeed Al-Arkani is imprisoned for his religious activity and expression.

In 2020, authorities arrested Al-Arkani, an imam, for being friendly with a prominent Turkish figure, Yasin…

Khaled Al-Rashed is imprisoned for his religious expression and association.

In March 2006, Saudi authorities arrested Al-Rashed, a cleric, for his membership in the Movement of Reformers…

Oscar Benavidez was imprisoned for criticizing religious freedom conditions.

On August 14, 2022, authorities reportedly arrested Benavidez, a priest, after he performed mass. …

Manahel al-Otaibi is imprisoned for her religious freedom advocacy.

In November 2022, Saudi authorities arrested al-Otaibi, an online fitness influencer, for opposing religiously grounded…

Jaime Iván Montesinos Sauceda was detained in relation to criticism of religious freedom conditions.

On May 23, 2023, police arrested Montesinos Sauceda, the parish priest of San Juan…

Eugenio Rodríguez Benavides is detained in relation to his religious beliefs and activities. 

On May 20, 2023, police arrested Rodríguez Benavides, parish priest of Divina…

Leonardo Guevara Gutiérrez was detained in relation to his religious beliefs and activities. 

On May 22, 2023, police arrested Guevara Gutiérrez, parish priest of Estelí…

Victor Ticay was imprisoned for covering religious issues.

On April 6, 2023, police arrested and detained Ticay, a journalist, for recording a banned Easter celebration in Nandaime and…

Fernando Zamora Silva was detained for his religious belief and activity. 

On July 9, 2023, police detained Zamora Silva, a Catholic priest and the chancellor of the Diocese of Siuna…

Badr Nader Al-Mashari is detained for his religious belief and activity.

In July 2023, authorities detained Al-Mashari, a prominent cleric who criticized the Saudi government's sponsorship…

Mohammed al-Ghamdi is imprisoned for his religious freedom advocacy.  

In June 2022, security forces in Mecca arrested al-Ghamdi at his home. Prosecutors accused him of…

Adela Tercero was detained in relation to a crackdown on religious institutions.

On August 19, 2023, police detained Tercero, who was a student leader at the Jesuit Central American…

Gabriela Morales was detained in relation to a crackdown on religious institutions.

On August 19, 2023, police detained Morales, who was a student at the Jesuit Juan Pablo II University.…

Osman José Amador Guillén is detained for his religious activity and belief.

On September 8, 2023, police arrested Amador, a parish priest in Wiwilí, late at night while he was…

Anas al-Mazrou is detained for his religious freedom advocacy.

In March 2019, authorities arrested al-Mazrou, a university lecturer, for participating in a human rights panel at the…

Julio Ricardo Norori is detained for his religious belief, religious activity, and religious leadership role.

On October 1, 2023, Nicaraguan authorities arrested Norori, a priest at the…

Iván Centeno is detained for his religious belief, religious activity, and religious leadership role.

On October 1, 2023, Nicaraguan authorities arrested Iván Centeno, a priest at the…

Cristóbal Gadea is detained for his religious belief, religious activity, and religious leadership role.

On October 1, 2023, Nicaraguan authorities arrested Cristóbal Gadea, a priest…

Álvaro Toledo is detained for his religious belief, religious activity, and religious leadership role.

On October 5, 2023, Nicaraguan authorities arrested Álvaro Toledo, a priest at…

Ramón Esteban Angulo Reyes is detained for his religious belief, religious activity, and religious leadership role.

On October 8, 2023, Nicaraguan authorities arrested Ramón Esteban…

Yesner Cipriano Pineda Meneses was detained for his religious belief, religious activity, and religious leadership role.

On October 7, 2023, Nicaraguan authorities arrested Yesner…

Nourah al-Qahtani is imprisoned for her religious activity.

In July 2021, officers of the Presidency of State Security arrested al-Qahtani for advocating for human rights on social…

Isidro Mora was detained for criticizing religious freedom conditions and for his religious leadership role.

On December 20, 2023, Nicaraguan police arrested Mora, a bishop from the…

Óscar Escoto was detained for his religious belief and activity and his religious leadership role.

On August 4, 2022, the Nicaraguan police prevented several people, including Escoto, from…

Julio Sevilla was imprisoned for his association with a religious organization.

In 2023, Nicaraguan authorities detained Sevilla, a former employee of the Catholic charity Caritas in the…

Julio Berríos was imprisoned for his association with a religious organization.

In 2023, Nicaraguan authorities detained Berríos, a former employee of the Catholic charity Caritas in the…

Bladimir Pallés is imprisoned for his religious association.

In 2023, Nicaraguan authorities detained Pallés, a former employee of the Catholic charity Caritas in the Diocese of Estelí.…

María Verónica Herrera Galeano was imprisoned for her association with a religious organization.

In 2023, Nicaraguan authorities detained Galeano, a former employee of the Catholic charity…

Freydell Andino was imprisoned for their association with a religious organization.

In 2023, Nicaraguan authorities detained Andino, a former employee of the Catholic charity Caritas in…

Mariví Andino was imprisoned for their association with a religious organization.

In 2023, Nicaraguan authorities detained Andino, a former employee of the Catholic charity Caritas in the…

Pablo Villafranca was detained for his religious activity and his religious leadership role.

On December 26, 2023, Nicaraguan authorities detained Villafranca, a priest at the Parish of…

Silvio Fonseca was detained for his religious expression and his religious leadership role.

On December 29, 2023, Nicaraguan authorities arrested Silvio Fonseca, the vicar of Family, Life…

Héctor Treminio was detained for his religious leadership role.

On December 28, 2023, police arrested Treminio, parish priest of the Santo Cristo de Esquipulas Church in Managua and…

Carlos Avilés was detained for his religious leadership role.

On December 28, 2023, police arrested Avilés, vicar general of the Archdiocese of Managua and priest of Cristo de las Colinas…

Fernando Calero was detained for his religious leadership role.

On December 28, 2023, police arrested Calero, parish priest of Our Lady of Fátima in Rancho Grande, Matagalpa, after he…

Marcos Díaz Prado was detained for his religious leadership role.

On December 28, 2023, authorities arrested Díaz Prado, vicar of the Santo Tomás Apóstol church of Puerto de Corinto in…

Mykel Monterrey was detained for his religious leadership role.

On or around December 29, 2023, police arrested Monterrey, parish priest of Nuestra Señora de Candelaria parish of the…

Raúl Zamora was detained for his religious leadership role.

On or around December 29, 2023, police arrested Zamora, parish priest of Jesús de la Divina Misericordia parish of the…

Gerardo Rodríguez was detained for his religious leadership role.

On or around December 30, 2023, police arrested Rodríguez, parish priest of Purísima Concepción church in Reparto Belmonte…

Miguel Mántica was detained for his religious leadership role.

On or around December 29, 2023, police arrested Mántica, parish priest of St. Francis of Assisi Church in Bolonia, Managua,…

Jader Hernández was detained for his religious leadership role.

On or around December 29, 2023, police arrested Hernández, parish priest of the Madre del Divino Pastor parish in Nejapa,…

Ismael Serrano was detained for his religious leadership role.

On December 30, 2023, police arrested Serrano, parish priest of San Miguel Arcángel, Las Brisas, under unclear circumstances…

 José Gustavo Sandino Ochoa was detained for his religious leadership role.

On December 31, 2023, police reportedly arrested Sandino, parish priest of Our Lady of Sorrows parish in…

Alester Sáenz was detained for his religious leadership role.

On December 20, 2023, Nicaraguan police arrested Sáenz, a seminarian, alongside Bishop Isidro Mora after the bishop…

Tony Palacios was detained for his religious leadership role.

On December 20, 2023, Nicaraguan police arrested Palacios, a seminarian, alongside Bishop Isidro Mora after the…

Mariam Al Qisoom is imprisoned for her religious freedom advocacy. 

In February 2019, authorities arrested Qisoom for her human rights advocacy on behalf of Shi'a minorities in…

Ervin López is detained for his religious activity and leadership role.

In December 2023, Nicaraguan authorities arrested López, a priest from the Diocese of León. His arrest came…

Francisco Odorico Castilblanco is detained for his religious belief and religious activity.

On January 2, 2024, the Nicaraguan authorities arrested Castilblanco, a seminarian from the…